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Australia Gay Marriages Are Now Legal

Australia gay marriages are now legal: couples rush to tie the knot

It is now legal to get married in Australia if you are gay and couples wasted no time getting to the alter as there have already been numerous same sex marriages made official under special dispensation.

Legalizing same sex marriage in Australia has been a long time coming, and passed the final hurdle earlier this month, when 146 of the 150-seat lower House of Representatives voted in favor.

After the voting had become official, people in the gallery stood in celebration and sang I Am Australian which is a very popular Australian anthem.

Back in November, results of a national referendum proved that without a doubt, Australians were overwhelmingly in favor of making gay marriage legal in the country as 80 percent of the people surveyed, were in favor.

January ninth was supposed to be the date that same sex marriage actually became legal, however in numerous cases, exceptions have been made due to unforseen circumstances involving certain couples.

Australian couples tie the knot this weekend

Two women, Lauren Price, 31 and Amy Laker, 29 were the first to officially legally tie the knot following the landmark bill that was passed just recently in Australia which allows for same sex couples to get married.

“Australia’s first legal same-sex marriage has just taken place. Congratulations Amy and Lauren,” Equal Marriage Rights Australia announced on its Facebook page.

Amy’s father Steve told The Daily Telegraph: “They just wanted it to be seen as a wedding. That’s what true acceptance is all about. For them it’s just about love.”

“We just wanted it to be simple, and we had planned this for about 18 months. This day was already planned anyway but it wasn’t legal so it was great that it was passed through early.”

Many other gay couples will be allowed to tie the knot before the official January ninth date.

West Australian couple Anne Sedgwick and Lyn Hawkins are one such couple, who got married today. They received special dispensation which allowed them to foregoe the 30 day waiting period because Hawkins, 85, is in the final stages of ovarian cancer.

“Anne has been very supportive through all this and marrying her, it’s Anne’s way of saying ‘let’s finally do this’,” Hawkins told Perth Now.

Cas Willow, 53, and Heather Richards, 56, will be getting married tomorrow. The couple received special dispensation because Willow is currently battling breast cancer that has spread to her brain.

“It means our relationship won’t just be tolerated, it will be accepted,” Richards said.

Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull is a long time advocate of same sex marriage, and welcomes the new legislation.

Brad is a former Senior Fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University, is an award-winning travel, culture, and parenting writer. His writing has appeared in many of the Canada’s most respected and credible publications, including the Toronto Star, CBC News and on the cover of Smithsonian Magazine. A meticulous researcher who’s not afraid to be controversial, he is nationally known as a journalist who opens people’s eyes to the realities behind accepted practices in the care of children. Brad is a contributing journalist to Advocator.ca